Robinson’s Eco-Economics and Practical Applications

As you may know I consider myself a bit of an expert on science fiction literature. This may be a conceit, but there it is. Recently I have been working my way through Kim Stanley Robinson’s Mars Trilogy. While I have really enjoyed these books, in some ways it has been a very difficult read for me, because my own personal economic and political philosophies clash drastically with those of Robinson. I’m more of a “Heinlein Libertarian”, while Robinson is a “Green Socialist”, and he refers to libertarians in Green Mars as anarchists who want protection from their slaves. I took a bit of offense, but I have to be honest this book has greatly influenced my thinking; especially when it comes to Robinson’s eco-economics.

I have never really believed in the validity of the labor theory of value. I agree in principle that ownership of labor should be every person’s intrinsic right. However, the idea that the value of a commodity is directly related to the labor used to create them only holds so much water. Sure, everyone should receive fair compensation for their work. But, if it takes me 5 hours to design a website layout, and it takes a brain surgeon 5 hours to remove a tumor from your noggin, which act has more value? I thought so.

But, eco-economics can be applied to a system where labor has different values. As I understand it the precept behind eco-economics is that one should put in an equal amount (or greater amount) into an economic system than one takes out of it so that the system remains anti-entropic. Robinson suggests a “need & gift” economy to institute this system, which has some flaws (such as taxes on personal savings to avoid wealth hording), but at a basic level is very practical. You’ll have to read the Mars Trilogy to learn more about this “need & gift” economy since I definitely do not have the space to write a dissertation here (nor the time). In economic times such as we are currently experiencing in the United States this eco-economics has a lot of appeal. Take the bailouts of 2009; they were a clear example that our Keynesian economic system is so slanted toward benefiting a small portion of our population that is damaging to our social ecology. When we bailed out these financial institutions be basically privatized wealth while socializing risk and loss. The idea that this benefits us all is completely beyond the pale. While there is some truth that allowing these companies to fail would be damaging to many the reality is that what these large corporations pay in is not what they take out by a long shot. When loss is socialized like this it does not benefit the general populous. In fact the nature of loans made to large corporations (whether banks or military contractors or whatever) is inherently counter to the previously mentioned eco-economical precept. When these companies borrow money from the Federal Reserve (Fed) the Fed prints that money for them, they get first use of that money and the interest they pay on it (in the quick turnaround time of such a lone) is below the devaluation of money caused by adding that liquidity to the market in the form of free floating capital. In effect these companies are sucking value right out of the system with out even directly producing a good or service. That sounds counter productive to me.

So what’s the alternative? Well off the top of my head I can think of a couple. One might be a loan fund where people had a minimum buy in of say $100. The fund promises a guaranteed return on that investment of say 12% so long as the needed funds are raised (otherwise money is returned or a lower rate goes into effect). Companies back the loan with reductions in personal debt or bonds depending on the company’s relationship to the individual. People can choose to pay into the fund rather than the government mandating the use of their money, and companies people feel will be more successful will receive larger capital contributions. These companies turn around and use that money just like they would use the bailout money, only now they are adding greater liquidity to the market, and they are paying back in more than or equal to what they take out (depending on inflation). Everyone gets what they need and no one has to give up ownership or equity. Obviously this is not fleshed out but I think it is a good start.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Stumbling, it’s awesome.

Stumbling, it’s awesome. In a society of media junkies, new and informative ways to gorge ourselves on delectable content are always welcome. And when that new fount of fun co-insides with work it’s even more diverting. Stumbleupon.com is my latest foray into media addiction, having accumulated almost four hundred “favorites” in as little as a month. Ranging from web design tools, to photoblogs, to funny videos, to top ten lists, to photoshop tutorials, to recipe sites, I can definitively say I’m hooked.

It is encouraging to see that such a community exists, as through stumbling I have found some resources that I use on a regular basis. Such as; www.bittbox.com ,   a great place to start on a search for free textures, and www.psdeluxe.com, with some awesome blog posts and lists on creative tools for todays’ savvy designers.

Oh, and a few favorites:

awesome fridge magnet:
www.onemoregadget.com/photoshop-magnet-kit-for-a-design-nuts-fridge/

awesome packaging:
www.krftd.com/special_report/transparent-mystery

awesome product design:
www.recyclart.org/2009/07/lighting-made-of-galvanized-iron

awesome public art:
www.yawoot.com/post/3206

awesome illustration tutorials:
www.tutorial9.net/resources/15-of-the-best-character-illustration-tutorials-online

awesome photoshop tutorial:
www.psdtop.com/blog/basic/understanding-blending-modes/

another awesome photoshop tutorial:
www.digitalartform.com/archives/2009/06/custom_halftone.html

awesome posters:
www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/09/30-typography-posters-that-youve-probably-never-seen-before/

awesome museum:
www.moma.org

awesome tech:
www.dvice.com/archives/2009/08/color-picker-pe.php

-john

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

3rd Ward: Fall Solo Show Submissions Opening Soon

So, I’m not a big one for picking news items out of other people’s blogs. Hell, if I wanted a blog like that I could just write a robot to go around finding blogs by tags and dropping them into our blog without regard for stlye, ingenuity, display, or the fact that some people get pissed off when you rip off their content; especially when you remove their links (I’m talking to you planet-x.com.au). Still, I think I’ll go and rip some content anyway.

To give credit where credit is due; you should checkout Design Glut, I know I’ve already recommended them in the Sexy Links section, but they wrote the story on 3rd Ward so they should get the credit. Their original story is here.

3rd Ward is a member based design center for professionals in my old stomping grounds of Williamsburg Brooklyn.  Their beginnings sound much like ours. Durring their early days they engaged in menial labor to make ends meet, and worked out how to live with each other (in leu of being overnight super stars). Our parties have been less successful at paying rent than theirs were, in fact we rarely exceed breaking even, but que ser a ser a (perhaps we should serve cheaper beverages). Today 3rd Ward is a thriving company. They provide freelancers with a place to work: with photo studios (bah we have one of those, oh 4 you say, well then), a shop (we have access to one), and a degital media lab (ha ha we definitely have a state of the art one of those), and they do a bunch of classes (okay I think I have 3rd Ward envy). Apparently they were approached by someone to open a location in Detroit, humm not the worst idea ever.

Anyway, one cool thing about 3rd Ward is that they put on solo and group shows for artists. They have open calls for artists nationwide. This is my primary reason for writing this post. If you don’t read Design Glut, and you aren’t aware of 3rd Ward, you might miss a stellar opportunity. Check out their Fall Solo Show: Open Call for Artists this October, and perhaps you will become a 3rd Ward discovery. Or, on second thought, don’t; I mean I’ll be submitting and who needs the competition.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Working on grokllc.com V2 - Menu(s)

There’s a certain dilemma that I face whenever something is finally finished, created, uploaded, etc. I’m never fully happy with it. I find myself going back to it and saying, “Well, what I should have done was this…” or “Maybe we could have added this element in lue of X.” Point being is you are always your biggest critic.  During the last parts of work on the 1st grok site I started to think about what the next one would be, “what’s wrong with the 1st one?” I think John asked, my reply, “Nothing, everything, there’s a mountain of things I would like to explore that we just can’t, less me start from scratch.” At that time we were pretty much a week behind getting the 1st site finished so I had to shelf my ideas till a latter date and time.

Welcome to a latter date and time.

This is the roots from which the tree has sprung. While this looks like the scribbles and rants of someone that should be committed to an institution, it makes perfectly good sense to John and myself. What this says about us…well I’m not entirely sure, we’ll save that post for a another time.

The original idea, if its in there, was to create a site that had both ease of use as well as having some artistic interactivity. By creating vector based art that not only changes through the user’s choices but also anchors all the information that the site has to display we thought we could create something that would be not only pleasant to look at but would also reflect something about us from a stylistic standpoint. From that launching point, one of anchoring vectors, John had the idea to strip the design down even more so that when a user navigated around they would be creating their own unique background, this was latter platformed to the idea that we could present nothing but white space and user navigation would be akin to ‘cutting’ through the background to reach other layers, much like when you tear a parts of a page out of a magazine you still see the page you’re on but also the one below it.

At this point in time the only work that’s been put into bring that idea to fruition is some simple menu creation, here’s a few examples cropped down, think of them as part of a much larger white page.

V2 Mk1

V2 Mk2

V2 Mk2b

Don’t ask how these things were reached from the madness that was scrawled on that piece of paper, its a mystery to everyone. The menus right now are very rough around the edges, however I think the color schemes are growing on me. Anyway, as things begin to evolve and take more of a concrete shape I’ll be back with an update and perhaps even more illegible sharpie drawings.

-Adam

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Adding a Little Green to the Industry

We were checking out Gray & Partners, a new start up advertising and design agency out of Boston. They have made it clear they prefer to work with companies that are committed to ‘going green’. To introduce themselves they delivered irises to green companies they are interested in at the 2009 Going Green Conference. One of the companies they highlight on their site is Planet Tran, a transportation service that employees exclusively hybrid vehicles.

Of course there are issues to consider when it comes to hybrids. While great for the environment because of low carbon emissions, their is the drawback that the production of hybrids has a greater environmental footprint than that of normal vehicles. The main concern comes for the destructive impact of the mining of certain minerals used in the production of hybrid batteries. However, responsible companies like Toyota are doing their part to try and lessen the impact of battery production by doing things like offering a $200 bounty for to make sure all ‘used up’ batteries come back to the company, and being responsible about the cleanup of waste.

To spite these concerns it is nice to see people in the industry trying to do something for the environment. As designers we often do not realize the impact that our own production has. If you are interested in ‘going green’ you can do just a few little things to lessen your carbon footprint like; turning off computers when not in use, getting media printed on recycled paper, and making sure your company has recycling bins. A little bit goes a long way.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Sexy Links Updated With Catagories

The GROK Hatchery Sexy Links page has been updated to include catagories and more links of interest. New Links include:

• Design Glut
• BittBox
• Design Shard
• The Daedalus Project
• Eyetools Eyetracking Research
• Engadget

Bookmark It

Hide Sites